PGA of America breaks silence after Rory McIlroy forced to ditch club over rules breach

Rory McIlroy has endured a tough week at Quail Hollow. Riding high after sealing a career slam with victory at The Masters, McIlroy only just scraped through to the weekend by narrowly getting inside the cut. GettyMcIlroy has been struggling off the tee in North Carolina[/caption] The Northern Irishman was forced to delay his third round after the weather saw play suspended just as he was about to tee off. SiriusXM PGA Tour Radio also broke the news that McIlroy had to ditch his driver after it was found to be ‘non-conforming’ in random testing. There were some unfounded accusations of cheating made on social media, which the PGA of America has moved swiftly to shut down. “We can confirm that the USGA was invited to do club testing at the PGA Championship, at the PGA of America’s request,” said Chief Championships Officer Kerry Haigh via a statement. “That testing program is consistent with the same level of support that the USGA provides to the PGA Tour and other championships, as part of their regular programs for driver testing. “The standard process is for about a third of the field to be randomly tested under the program. That was the case at Quail Hollow this week. “Finding driver heads that have crept over the line of conformance is not an unusual occurrence, especially for clubs that are hit thousands of times over a long period of time. “The results are kept confidential to protect players, who are unaware the club has fallen out of conformance and not responsible for it falling out of conformance other than hitting the club thousands of times. “Players are simply asked to change heads if necessary, and all do without issue. “To publicly identify players whose club did not conform can lead to that player being questioned unnecessarily. Neither the USGA nor the PGA of America have any concerns about player intent.” GettyMcIlroy came crashing back to earth with a bump[/caption] USGA officials carried out random testing to ensure players’ equipment fits strict eligibility criteria – and McIlroy’s TaylorMade Qi10 failed. It has not been specified what the problem was – although ex-PGA Tour pro Johnson Wagner suggested McIlroy might have been the victim of some wear and tear. He said: “The USGA conducts these tests pretty much every year out here. They test all aspects of the face, and drivers fail all the time. Every single week, someone’s driver fails. “It is by no fault of the player, they don’t know how to do it, it is a sophisticated testing system. When you are a player like Rory McIlroy, who hits the ball as hard as he does, the face naturally thins out.” Reigning PGA champion Xander Schauffele has previously hit out at the process of random equipment testing after his driver was taken out of the bag shortly before the 2019 Open Championship. “I would gladly give up my driver if it’s not conforming. But there’s still 130 other players in the field that potentially have a nonconforming driver as well,” Schauffele said at the time. “Had a word with [the R&A], and hopefully they take my comments seriously and my concern just because it wasn’t my plan to show up Monday morning of a major or Tuesday—sorry, it was Tuesday evening where I was doing driver testing here. It’s not really what players want to be doing. “What’s the fair thing to do? Just test the whole field. It’s plain and simple. When I talked to them, they didn’t really know how to… you can’t really answer that question. You test everyone, it’s simple as that.” The Open getaway Enjoy a 3-night weekend getaway with grounds admission tickets for both Saturday and Sunday of The Open 2025. Stay in comfort at the Hilton Templepatrick, with transfers included and exclusive access to the Your Golf Travel Clubhouse. All this from just £1,270 per person – don’t miss your chance to be part of golf’s biggest event in ultimate style. Plan your dream golf trip HERE.

May 18, 2025 - 00:00

PGA of America breaks silence after Rory McIlroy forced to ditch club over rules breach

Rory McIlroy has endured a tough week at Quail Hollow.

Riding high after sealing a career slam with victory at The Masters, McIlroy only just scraped through to the weekend by narrowly getting inside the cut.

McIlroy has been struggling off the tee in North Carolina[/caption]

The Northern Irishman was forced to delay his third round after the weather saw play suspended just as he was about to tee off.

SiriusXM PGA Tour Radio also broke the news that McIlroy had to ditch his driver after it was found to be ‘non-conforming’ in random testing.

There were some unfounded accusations of cheating made on social media, which the PGA of America has moved swiftly to shut down.

“We can confirm that the USGA was invited to do club testing at the PGA Championship, at the PGA of America’s request,” said Chief Championships Officer Kerry Haigh via a statement.

“That testing program is consistent with the same level of support that the USGA provides to the PGA Tour and other championships, as part of their regular programs for driver testing.

“The standard process is for about a third of the field to be randomly tested under the program. That was the case at Quail Hollow this week.

“Finding driver heads that have crept over the line of conformance is not an unusual occurrence, especially for clubs that are hit thousands of times over a long period of time.

“The results are kept confidential to protect players, who are unaware the club has fallen out of conformance and not responsible for it falling out of conformance other than hitting the club thousands of times.

“Players are simply asked to change heads if necessary, and all do without issue.

“To publicly identify players whose club did not conform can lead to that player being questioned unnecessarily. Neither the USGA nor the PGA of America have any concerns about player intent.”

McIlroy came crashing back to earth with a bump[/caption]

USGA officials carried out random testing to ensure players’ equipment fits strict eligibility criteria – and McIlroy’s TaylorMade Qi10 failed.

It has not been specified what the problem was – although ex-PGA Tour pro Johnson Wagner suggested McIlroy might have been the victim of some wear and tear.

He said: “The USGA conducts these tests pretty much every year out here. They test all aspects of the face, and drivers fail all the time. Every single week, someone’s driver fails.

“It is by no fault of the player, they don’t know how to do it, it is a sophisticated testing system. When you are a player like Rory McIlroy, who hits the ball as hard as he does, the face naturally thins out.”

Reigning PGA champion Xander Schauffele has previously hit out at the process of random equipment testing after his driver was taken out of the bag shortly before the 2019 Open Championship.

“I would gladly give up my driver if it’s not conforming. But there’s still 130 other players in the field that potentially have a nonconforming driver as well,” Schauffele said at the time.

“Had a word with [the R&A], and hopefully they take my comments seriously and my concern just because it wasn’t my plan to show up Monday morning of a major or Tuesday—sorry, it was Tuesday evening where I was doing driver testing here. It’s not really what players want to be doing.

“What’s the fair thing to do? Just test the whole field. It’s plain and simple. When I talked to them, they didn’t really know how to… you can’t really answer that question. You test everyone, it’s simple as that.”